New Future, Broken Past
by DelightfullyMAD
Summary: It has been five hundred years. Five hundred years since her betrayal. Five hundred years since her defeat and redemption. Can time wash away the sins of a former life, or will it simply give them time to fester...? Terracentric
1. Chapter 1

_Disclaimer: I do not own nor am I responsible for the creation of Teen Titans or Palladium's RIFTS, though the OC's found in this story are mine thank you very much._

_AN: This is a cross over between Teen Titans and RIFTS. For those who are unfamiliar with RIFTS… well I am sure that if it interests you enough you will go and look it up online yourself. Besides you'll probably get the gist of it from reading my story anyway so don't fret. Now then, on with the story._

"Hello" Speech

_'Hello'_ Inner monologue

**_'Hello'_** Telepathic speech

* * *

New Future, Broken Past

* * *

Chapter 1: An odd discovery, link to an age long past.

"Wow, incredible!" A voice exclaimed. The sudden sound seemed so out of place, resounding through the empty cavern. The cavern was dark, a place long forgotten and buried, undisturbed through the centuries. Now however, a single robed figure made its way through the darkness, a single ball of light illuminating the blackness before it.

"I wonder how long it's been since anyone has been down here" The figure wondered, looking about curiously. All about the cavern innumerable steel beams jutted from the earth in various lengths and sizes, the blasted structures of primitive vehicles lined the ravaged and long abandoned streets. It was like standing amidst the bones of the past, a graveyard of history. Or at least that was what he liked to think.

The figure that intruded upon this otherwise deathly peaceful cave stood roughly six feet tall, garbed in a heavy black cowl which hung off his slender shoulders. A large hood was pulled up over his face, a face which was currently concealed under a dark metal oxygen mask. The mask covered the entire face, a single long visor extending from one side to the other, two tubes running from the mouth area to disappear into the shadows of his hood. He looked all about taking in the view, the faint hiss of his mask breaking the silence.

"I wonder what city this was. There must be some sort of sign or something around here." He mumbled. The figure began to search, the orb of light flitting this way and that at his silent command, illuminating the area in a soft blue glow. Eventually, after nearly an hour of scouring the ruins, he came across a large twisted piece of metal. It was covered in dust and hardened earth. He brushed it aside eagerly.

Jump City

"Jump City huh? Never heard of it." The figure muttered to himself. With that, he quickly reached under his robes into a small satchel hanging over his shoulder. Withdrawing a small, crudely bound book, he flipped through it until he came to a blank page, making a quick note of the name and the description of the location, or what was left of it anyway.

Nodding with satisfaction, he closed the book and once again began poking through the ruins. Not that there was much to find, an occasional sign or billboard from a destroyed building, some random fossilized object like ancient bikes or cars. Unfortunately there was no sight of anything of any relevance, no books or video tapes that might provide some insight into the history of this city. He sighed sadly.

"Man, what waste, and here I thought I might have found something good this time." Looking about once more, he noticed an area several hundred feet away, what looked like a large pit in the earth. Intrigued, he ran forward, his light leading the way.

"Well… this might be promising." He chuckled as he approached the pit "There certainly isn't much else to explore so let's see what we can find down here."

_**'You're really enjoying this aren't you warmling?'**_ Came a familiar voice inside his head. The voice was deep, yet undeniably feminine, the tone warm despite the somewhat rude title it bestowed on him. He gave a mental grin in return.

**_'Of course, you should know that better than anyone.'_** He tossed back.

_**'Hmph, whatever…'**_

**_'So have you ever heard of this Jump City' _**He inquired. He got a mental snort in response.

_**'As if I would concern myself with the pitiful cities you humans create for yourselves. I had better things to do than to trouble myself over such useless knowledge.'**_ Came the predictably arrogant response.

_**'So in other words… no, you haven't.'**_ Caine quipped, laughing as the psychic entity bristled.

Chanting quietly to himself, he took a small leap into the pit, feeling the familiar flow of energy through his body as he drifted safely through the darkness below, his cloak billowing about him.

* * *

A puff of smoke dissolved into the warm summer air, its wisps curling about before disappearing. A slight intake of air followed by a loud exhale sent another plume out to join the first. A huge figure stood with its back against a large rugged old van, its beat up cowboy hat pulled low over its narrow reptilian face. It looked, for lack of a better description, like a large humanoid dinosaur, it's large scaled body standing nearly ten feet tall, scaly plating covering it's backside from the tip of it's large prehensile tail to the top of it's head. Two large revolvers hung at its sides, complete with two ammo belts strapped loosely over its large barreled chest. What looked like an enormous rifle, or perhaps a tank turret, was slung over its back. Casually removing the large cigar from its mouth, the figure glanced up at the sky, heaving a heavy sigh.

"Geeze I'm bored. Why in damn hell does that lil' guy always take so damn long." It moaned, it's deep gravely male voice carrying a slight southern drawl. He replaced the cigar.

The sun was beginning to set on the horizon, casting the sparse plains into shadow. Off in the distance a faint blue glow began to appear as a nearby ley line(1) began to light up in the approaching darkness.

"He damn well better find somethin' this time… otherwise this whole dang blasted trip will be fer nothin', and were runnin' out o' funds" he muttered, followed by more smoke.

"… I'm so booooored…" he said again, "I really wanna go shoot somethin'…" He mused to himself.

* * *

He hit the bottom of the pit with a soft thud, centuries of dust wafting about him, kicked up by his sudden intrusion. Reaching down, he grasped a small bit of earth, running it inquisitively through his gloved fingers.

"Hmmm, this rock seems to be volcanic. But the sensors didn't pick up any indication that this area had any volcanic activity. How strange."

This wasn't looking nearly as interesting as he had hoped. Still, there really wasn't much harm in pushing a little farther. Sending his light ahead, he pressed forward.

There was a lot of debris down here, as if a massive rock slide had occurred. He made his way over a particularly large mound, and ran smack into an object at the top.

"Ow, son of bitch! What the hell was tha…?" He trailed off, his cursing giving way to a gasp of excitement.

There at the top of the mound stood a single stone statue. It was carved in the form of a young female from the looks of it, dressed in strange and certainly un-functional armor, her arms thrown out to the sides in a warding gesture. Even the expression of the face was shown, the rock eyes conveying a sense of emotion that only an expert sculptor could capture. From the looks of it seemed to be undamaged, not a single crack in the stone. That alone was impressive enough, but the quality of the statue was extraordinary. It seemed almost alive so great was the detail.

"What's this?" He whispered to himself, bending down to examine the statues base. There was a smooth area in the stone, like a plaque. Blowing against it lightly, the dust cleared to reveal a set of words which were chiseled into a small metal plate:

Terra

A Teen Titan

A True Friend

The young Ley Line Walker(2) smiled beneath his mask, "What luck! This was exactly the kind of thing I came down here to find, an excellent piece of ancient history, and undamaged to boot!" He exclaimed happily, careful to keep his voice low to avoid a cave in. Still reeling from excitement, he proceeded back to the hole, and with another quick incantation, swiftly flew up through the opening and back to the surface. He would definitely need some muscle for this job.

**_'Well good, we actually found something this time.'_** The voice stated sarcastically.

**_'Don't start Ilistraza.'_** He shot back.

His mind went back over the simple engraving in the statues base, running the name over and over again in his mind. The mystery set his explorers blood aboil with excitement and anticipation.

"Teen Titan huh? I wonder if it was some corny military group or something. Damn I wish I could have at least found a book or two. That certainly would have helped."

* * *

It was well past nightfall by the time the two explorers managed to remove the statue, and the actual process of getting it up the hole was a considerable pain in the ass. Still, they managed to make their way up with considerable effort, and a whole string of colorful swears and curses. After setting up a fire, the two stood to regard their findings.

"So whady'a think it is buddy?" The big guy finally asked, eying the statue critically. He casually chewed on the butt of his cigar on one side of his mouth, blowing a large stream of smoke out the other.

"I'm not entirely sure Tank, though I plan to run a few tests to hopefully determine the date of the stone. But there is no doubt that this is definitely a pre-cataclysm piece of art we have here, and it will certainly be worth something, at least ten thousand credits." The considerably smaller figure answered, still considering the statue in front of him.

"…So… target practice is out then…?" The large one asked.

The cloaked figure stared at him incredulously "NO YOU CAN"T SHOOT IT!" He sputtered.

"Fine, fine, just didn't think it would hurt to ask is all."

Removing his mask to reveala youthful face, the human glared at him, his midnight black hair hanging loosely over his right eye, "There is such a thing as a stupid question you know."

The large lizard man simply shrugged his massive shoulders and spit in response as he walked off towards the van. Mumbling and shaking his head, the cloaked figure bent to his task. He began to walk about the statue slowly, taking it in, looking for any flaws or imperfections.

**_'Let me analyze it.'_**

**_'Hmmm, why? Do you sense something?'_** He asked questioningly.

**_'I'm not sure, something about this statue seems… odd.'_**

**_'Ok, sure I suppose it couldn't hurt.' _**He acquiesced.

His right arm came up from the depths of his cloak, a billowy black sleeve covering it up to the elbow. The rest of the arm was covered in an equally black form fitting sleeve, held at the wrist by a dark metal bracer, the hand covered in a dark grey glove. Removing the glove and bracer, he pulled the black sleeve back to reveal a black metal arm, the entire visible length of which sported an intricate array of lightly glowing runes. At the wrist was a beautiful and incredibly ornate carving of a dragon's head, the upper half of its mouth rising ever-so-slightly off the metal surface.

Lightly placing this hand against the stone figures head, he concentrated for a moment. His hand began to glow a soft blue, which then began to spread into the statue itself, flowing over its still form like mist. After a few moments of quiet exploration, his eyes snapped open in shock.

"What in the hell…" He muttered. Frantically, he ended the incantation, pulling his hand back and stepping away to look at the statue more carefully.

"That feeling… just now. There's no way…"

**_'My thoughts exactly.'_**

**_'What do you make of it Ilistraza?'_** He asked mentally. He could feel the entity shrug her shoulders uncertainly. She scanned deeper, attempting to locate the source of the sensation.

**_'There is definitely someone living in this statue, though it is hard to get an exact lock on her thought patterns. Whoever she is, she is apparently in deep hibernation however.'_** The voice replied.

There was no reason to doubt her conclusion, through their bond, not to mention the decidedly dangerous situations they had been in together, he knew her well enough to know and trust in her capabilities. There was no doubt about it, there was definitely something alive inside that statue. His shock quickly gave way to excitement. This was getting better and better every minute.

"Looks like I might not need those books after all." He said with a laugh. Hearing the door slam on the van, he quickly covered his arm.

"Hmm, what'cha talkin'bout Caine?" Tank asked, returning from the van. He took a large swig from a bottle he was carrying, coughing a few times as the alcohol slid burning down his throat. He gave a contented sigh afterwards "Ahhhhhh, this is good shit!" Another swig, another cough, "Want some?"

"LIKE HELL, I can't drink that!" He shouted, backing away slightly.

"Ah, come on don't be such a feather-weight pansy." Tank bellowed, laughing loudly.

"IT'S 195 PROOF, THAT STUFF WILL KILL ME!"

Tank shrugged, then took another shot.

"Wuss" he whispered.

"Geeze, sometimes I worry about you…" Caine mumbled. He continued to inspect the statue, zipping around from one side to the other, occasionally reciting a small incantation as he did so.

"Hmm, worry about what?" Tank cocked his reptilian head to the side questioningly. He stuck a fresh cigar in his mouth, whipped one of his revolvers from his side. Placing the barrel at the underside of the tip, he pulled the trigger. A quiet hiss sounded from the Smith and Wesson shaped energy pistol as the thin beam of energy shot into the sky. Breathing deeply, he let out a fresh stream of smoke, then took another deep drink from his bottle. He coughed again.

Caine sweat dropped "You have to ask? Damn, all you seem to be able to do is eat, sleep, smoke, drink yourself stupid…"

"…And shoot things." Tank offered helpfully, giving a large sharp toothed grin and waving his pistol about.

Sigh "…And shoot things." He conceded. He held his glare for a few more moments before a slight twitch of his lips gave him away. Giving up, he laughed lightly, his own mirth quickly followed by the loud laughter of his partner.

"O…ok, Tank, ok…" He managed between chuckles, "seriously though I need to get back to work on this." He returned to inspecting the statue.

"Whatever ya say partner, but just what is so damned interesting about that piece of rock all of a sudden?"

Caine was silent for a few moments before he answered "There is someone alive in here…"

Tank simply stared "Really? Can ya get it out?"

"Of course, but I would still like to determine a few things before I just go about doing anything. I need to figure out just how deep the transformation is so that I know just how much energy will be required for a complete and safe transmutation."

"Uhhhhh… yeah sure, whatever…" Tank mumbled, completely lost at this point. Talk of magic and the arcane always went completely over his head, "Well, if ya need me… too bad I'll be out huntin'." He walked off towards the van, opening the door in the back. After a moment the sound of an engine powering up split the quiet night air.

"Yeeeeeehaaaaaaw!" Tank shouted as he came barreling out of the back of the van on a large hover cycle. The bike was probably an excellent model; at least it was at one point, though it was hard to tell from all the dings, scratches and dents all over it. The layers upon layers of dirt and mud didn't help either. He took off into the distance, waving his massive gun about one handed singing something about flash frying a buffalo before he vanished over the horizon.

Caine watched him go with a smile before returning his attention back to the work at hand, "Alright then, let's see what you're made of…"

* * *

_Her mind stirred slightly. A probing sensation flowed through her, brushing against her mind lightly, searchingly._

_Mentally, she stirred, awakened by that unfamiliar and invasive sensation. And with that, memories flooded back as well. Faces which seemed so hazy came slowly into focus. She could remember pain, betrayal, the thrill of victory, the bitterness of defeat, and the weight of her sins as they re-emerged one by one._

_And finally there came names: Robin, Cyborg, Starfire, Raven…_

_Beast Boy…_

_Where was she?_

_What was this sensation?_

_Why was she awake now? Why now, and for what purpose?_

_And why did it feel as though she had been asleep for such a very, very long time?_

_These questions faded however as the presence left her, leaving her in complete darkness once again._

_And everything faded once again._

* * *

Caine pulled his hand back as he completed his scan "Fascinating, this is a complete transformation of the living body into stone, and yet the mind remains and even responds to outside stimulus." He mused to himself. Rubbing his chin thoughtfully, he placed the other against the statues forehead.

This is definitely the work of Geomancy. Pretty good job too. Ilistraza stated, the ancient entity giving a low mental whistle of appreciation. Following her mental commentary came a stream of mental information regarding the estimated date of the stone, as well as the potency and completeness of the petrification.

"Well now that we know the exact makeup, the rest should be easy…" he said. With that, he began to chant softly, his mouth forming unfamiliar and alien words as he focused his power on the statue before him. The stone itself began to glow from within with a faint green light, becoming almost translucent before it began to dissolve away. The whole process all took no more than just a few seconds.

With a silent groan, Terra slumped unconsciously forward, only to be caught by Caine before she hit the ground.

Setting her on the ground gently, Caine kept a critical eye on her for several minutes, taking in her physical appearance. She was rather petite, even for a girl her age, with shoulder length golden blond hair. Her strange suit was somewhat scratched and scuffed but otherwise undamaged, and the bandages she wore about her unarmored parts were tattered, several strips hanging off in various locations. Fortunately she seemed to weather the transformation fine, her breathing was slow and regular.

The sound of an engine shook him from his inspection. Looking up he saw his partner returning, the sound of air brakes squealing as the vehicle spun several times before finally coming to a stop. Tank steped of casually, hauling a large buffalo carcass over his shoulder.

"You done yet." Tank's voice hollered from

"Yeah, the process went quite smoothly." He yelled back. Turning around he took a closer look at the animal Tank was holding, a sweat drop running down the back of his head, "You… went hunting with your rail gun again didn't you." It was more of a statement than a question.

Tank took a quick look at his catch "How could'ya tell?"

"Well the fact that half of the buffalo is, well, vaporized kind of clued me in." He stated dryly. He turned back to the girl.

"What're you complaining about, I brought back the good half." Tank protested.

**_'Moron.'_** Ilistraza muttered. Caine silently seconded that conclusion.

Casually dropping the beast to the ground, Tank took a deep drag from his cigar, which by this time was down to the butt. He walked over to inspect their little discovery himself, chewing on his cigar idly as his slit eyes swept over her. He gave a low, smoky whistle.

"She's a cutie ain't she?" He asked with a chuckle. He cast a lecherous grin down at his partner.

**_'As if.'_** Griped Ilistraza darkly.

Obviously not paying much attention, Caine simply shrugged, offering an absent "Mmm hmm…" as he continued to study the body, taking in the injuries that had opened up fresh when she was transmuted. Tank rolled his eyes.

"Oh yeah, forgot who I was talkin' to." Tank grumbled, "Yer more turned on by dusty old books and ancient relics than a pretty, young female of your own species." He sighed in mock disgust before his face turned serious, "So… she gonna be alright? Looks like she was in a rather nasty scuffle before she was stoned."

"Petrified." Caine corrected

"Petrified, stoned, same thing."

"… Not… really…" Caine stated blandly. He cleared his throat, "Anyways yes she'll be fine, she just needs a couple days to awaken and recover. She's been in hibernation for at least 500 years after all. However…" he stopped.

"…However…" Tank prompted.

Caine began to inspect her legs and arms, then nodded to himself, "Yeah, this will probably pose more of a problem."

"Damnit, stop keep'n half the conversation to yer'self, it don't help my understandin' none ya know." Tank growled.

"Sorry, what I meant to imply was that her body has been unused for the last half of a millennia. Her body will no doubt have atrophied during that time. It will take at least a week for her to recover her muscle strength, and that's with magical assistance."

Tank nodded in understanding "Soooooo… she's a gimp then?"

"Uh, w-well… that was a little blunt but essentially yes she won't be able to do much for a while" He stuttered, a little taken aback by his friends blatant lack of tact.

Tank nodded again "Well alright then…" he said, reaching down and grabbing the girl by the back of her suit. He threw her over his shoulder unceremoniously, then without a word began to walk back to the large van, humming an off key tune on his way. Caine simply stared after them.

"For gods sake Tank, be a little more careful would you!" He shouted. He got up and ran after them.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah." Tank stated nonchalantly.

**_'Barbaric lout…'_** Ilistraza grumbled.

* * *

_AN: How was it? Interesting? Crappy? Should I stop kidding myself? Should I go on? As usual, comments and constructive criticism is warmly welcomed, so long as it is useful. Compliments are always appreciated. Flames will be stamped out brutally and without mercy. Reviews are necessary to keep this story going so please, if you enjoyed the story, review and give me the incentive to continue._

_Yes this will be Terra-centric. No she is not necessarily my favorite character in Teen Titans (Raven holds that spot of honor) but all in all I do like her character, for better or for worse. That's what made her a good character after all. Besides, she has (in my opinion) the coolest powers. As for whether or not I will at some point involve the other Teen Titans, all I can say is I'm not sure yet. But this does take place in the RIFTS universe, and the RIFTS universe is known for it's massive cross-over potential._

_(1) Ley-Line: Essentially rivers of energy which criss-cross over the surface of the earth. They represent a blurring between dimensions and can act as inexhaustible sources of energy to those who know how to tap into it._

_(2) Ley-Line Walker: One of the classes found in RIFTS, this is essentially the basic "Wizard" class available. Their name is derived from the fact that they are masters of tapping into and using Ley-Lines for various purposes. _

_Many will undoubtedly have questions regarding Caine's mysterious arm, and all I can say is have patience. Those who know enough about RIFTS will probably be able to guess what it is, though I will openly admit that it is still a little unorthodox. The concept of the arm is (very lightly) inspired by Edward Elric from Full Metal Alchemist (because Ed kicks ass, do I need a better reason?). I will provide more information on specific RIFTS concepts in the authors note for chapter 2, to help people unfamiliar with the system and terms keep up with the flow of the story. As it is only a little bit of information was really necessary for this chapter._


	2. Chapter 2

_Disclaimer: I really don't like repeating myself but… I do not own either Teen Titans or RIFTS. The characters Caine, Ilistraza, and Tank are mine however even though they both exist in the Rifts universe._

* * *

New Future, Broken Past.

* * *

Chapter 2: Awakening to a new world.

Caine's eyebrow twitched irritably as the van made another sudden jolt, jarring his attention away from the book that he was currently reading: an ancient text dealing with pre-cataclysmic art and architecture. It wouldn't have been so aggravating to hit bumps while driving a van across the rough prairie lands of old California if it weren't for the fact that the van they were currently riding in was equipped with hover capability.

Just how in the hell could Tank hit bumps when they were driving three feet above the ground?

"Hey Tank! Could you smooth it out a bit please? I'm trying to read here!" He yelled up front, his voice betraying only a small fraction of his annoyance.

Another bump and jolt was his answer, followed by a deep chortle.

"You did that on purpose!" He shouted accusingly.

"No shit!" Tank laughed back.

Grumbling, Caine reluctantly set the book aside. There was no way he was going to get any reading done with Tank acting like a complete ass. Casting a glance over at their sleeping 'guest' he figured that he might as well check on her. It would give him something to do, and besides he really didn't want to get his ass kicked in psychic chess with Ilistraza again. The psychic entity in his arm was unquestioningly intelligent, a great intellectual challenge for him to test his own mental capacity, but she was a very poor winner with a massive superiority complex. That made for a very bad combination. Constant taunts of 'Oh don't feel too bad, you're only human after all' and 'That's it? But I went so easy on you this time…' really set his nerves on edge, not to mention it sucked all the fun out of the game.

And she wondered why he was so reluctant to play the damn game with her.

Walking over to her silently, making sure to keep a hold of something in case Tank decided to pull another one of his 'accidental' bumps, he did a quick check of her condition. She was sleeping peacefully enough, despite the bumpy ride, though considering her current state he was certain that most of that was due to her lingering effects of prolonged hibernation.

Still this was a delicate and dangerous time for her, as people who had awoken from prolonged stasis like she had were known to simply shut down a few hours afterwards. Their body simply lacked the strength to make it back into the waking world after such a long period of inactivity. Still, there shouldn't be any real danger, so long as there was someone who could provide aid should such a situation arise.

Confident that everything was in order, he regarded her with open interest. He could only imagine the kind of historical insights she could provide to him and it was all he could do to remain patient.

'**_Give the poor child time to adjust'_** came a gentle reprimand inside his mind. He winced involuntarily. It was sometimes easy to forget his telepathic bond with Ilistraza, so accustomed he had become to the ancient being over the past two years. Interestingly enough she had 'adopted' him, so-to-speak, and naturally the entity had taken it upon herself to keep him in line.

'**_Oh come on now Ilistraza, it's not like I'm going to put her through a full scale interrogation as soon as she wakes up' _**He protested.

'**_Liar, you even have a list of questions made up and everything.'_**

He sighed. She got him there. Sometimes he was just too inquisitive for his own, not to mention other peoples, own good. There were plenty of occasions where his thirst for knowledge had gotten him into a whole heap of trouble.

And he could see her point, loathe he was to admit it. It wouldn't be kind if the first thing she woke up to was a bombardment of questions, even though he had already compiled a mental list. Still, that could wait, let her get adjusted to her new setting, then the bombardment could commence. He cast a look at her.

"I wonder just what kind of secrets you hold. What kind of stories do you have to tell?" He mused aloud.

* * *

"_Beastboy, B-Beastboy! Stop! Aren't you even going to talk to me!" She shouted desperately._

"_There's nothing more say." Came a chillingly cold voice. Cyborg._

"_You attempted to annihilate us!" Came another, the tone both sad and accusing. Starfire._

"_Did you think we wouldn't take it personally?" Came the question, full of spite and barely repressed rage. Raven._

"_It's over Terra." Came the final nail in the coffin. Robin._

_This scene still played out in her mind, over and over. Even though it had happened only hours ago, for some reason she felt as if an eternity had passed her by._

_She recalled their faces, the shock each of them displayed at her betrayal. She remembered Beastboy's face the most, the hurt that she saw there before she cast him into the void she had created. She could remember her cruel, what she thought were her final words to him._

"_Hope you're not expecting a goodbye kiss."_

_Why had she done it?_

_She still didn't know herself._

_Oh, she had taken the first step towards redemption that was true, but that seemed so small in comparison to the enormous atrocity that she had committed._

* * *

The girl shifted a little in her sleep, mumbling something that sounded like a name before she rolled over to her side. A single tear went streaking down her cheek.

"Hmm, bad dream I suppose." He murmured. He watched her for a few more moments, his expression softening with pity and sympathy. But activity during sleep was a good sign. It meant that she had passed from deep hibernation to regular sleep. It shouldn't be long before she woke.

"It's going to be a rather large shock when she discovers just how displaced she is from everything she knows." He said, more to himself than anything.

'**_That it will. But for her this may be a blessing in disguise.'_** Ilistraza stated, her voice carrying a hint of sadness.

'_**How do you mean?'**_

Ilistraza was silent for a moment. He felt her mulling over her response.

'**_During my probe earlier, I was able to touch her mind, at least partially. I was not able to glean anything specific like thoughts or memories, but her emotions were clear. She was being eaten away by guilt. This may give her the opportunity to make a new start.' _**She finally answered.

Caine nodded in understanding. Guilt. That was something that he could certainly sympathize with.

"Hey Caine! Think it's 'bout time to set up for the night!" Tank yelled from the front. Looking out the side window, the Line Walker could see that the sun had nearly set over the horizon. But more importantly, he could see and feel the presence of several ley lines in the distance, the two of them intersecting at a point roughly half a mile away. He smiled slightly, this was a perfect location for camp, the presence of a nexus point(1) would provide him with more than enough PPE(2) to draw upon should anything unexpected happen.

"Yeah, let's stop here tonight." He called back.

* * *

It took only a few moments to set up camp. The buffalo meat that hadn't been dried and stored was taken out, sitting over a small fire on makeshift skewers. Tank watched them eagerly, a string of saliva hanging from the Grackle Tooth's(3) mouth.

The girl lay resting on the opposite side between the fire and the van, her body covered by Caine's cloak. She would toss and turn every so often, mumbling various words in her sleep before she would quiet down again.

Caine himself sat absorbed in his book 'Gardener's Art Through the Ages'. It had been a hell of an adventure acquiring it, leading them through a buried library up in northern Washington. What had they found there again… oh yeah, that nest of Bladeclaws. But considering all the impressive lore it contained, the risk had been well worth it, in his opinion at least. His partner Tank had given him a good tongue lashing afterwards however, the D-Bee complaining quite loudly about risking his neck for a stupid stack of paper. And considering the damage he had taken during the acquisition, his companion Ilistraza had a few choice things to add as well.

"Meats done!" Tank shouted, immediately snatching up one of the skewers. Caine simply smiled, silently deciding that he would wait a few more minutes. 'Done' for Tank could basically be referred to as 'blood-drippin rare' which frankly did not sound particularly appetizing to him.

'**_Don't knock it until you've tried it. Why I can still remember when I was flesh and blood, I would love the thrill of tearing into my food. Mmmm.' _**Ilistraza proclaimed. Was it just him, or could he actually sense her 'salivating'?

'**_There are some things you just know, Ilistraza. And wipe away that drool.' _**He chided, failing to keep the laughter out of his tone.

'**_Whatever…'_** She grumped.

After another minute Caine gingerly took the skewer that he was preparing. He ate slowly, trying valiantly to ignore the atrocious slurping of his comrade.

"Mmngh…"

"…!" Stopping in mid bite, Caine turned towards the girl who was beginning to turn about regularly now. Her eyelids twitched slightly.

"Hmm, looks like she might awaken soon…" Caine commented absently.

"What, really?" Tank asked, a bit of meat hanging from his mouth, before he slurped it up.

"She should be up by morning, so let's go ahead and turn in for the night."

"Yeah, sure thing."

* * *

There was the sudden sensation of light. Squinting behind closed lids, Terra swam slowly to consciousness. Was it morning already?

Then reality hit her.

Eyes fluttering open, she found herself gazing up into a vast blue sky, the endless blue broken occasionally by the presence of wispy clouds. She shot upright.

And promptly fell back against the ground.

"O-ouch." She grunted. She tried to lift her hand to rub the back of her head, but found that her arm, while certainly getting the signals, simply didn't have the strength to respond properly. It lay limply at her side, a slight twitch the only indication that she was trying to move it at all.

Just where the heck was she! The last thing she remembered was the volcano erupting and being surrounded by liquid fire…

"Oh good, you're finally awake."

Her eyes went wide at the unfamiliar voice. Feebly moving her head to the side, she saw a young man garbed in black sitting a short distance away looking up from a large book. He smiled gently at her as he slowly stood up, lightly setting his book down. Walking over slowly, he knelt down next to her, placing one hand over her forehead and closing his eyes. A strange probing sensation went through her, eerily familiar, before he opened his eyes again. She regarded him silently, not entirely sure what to make of this completely surreal situation.

"Well, it seems as though your recovery has come along nicely. No long term damage or anything. That's good." He said, his voice light and friendly.

"W-who…" She croaked, her voice failing.Her throatfelt terriblydry and parched.

"Oh yes, water would be good. Here." He said, holding a small canteen to her lips. She accepted it gratefully.

"As to who I am, my name is Caine. Pleasure to meet you." He said. One hand was held behind her head to keep her level enough to drink as the other held the canteen.

After a minute of quenching her thirst, he pulled the canteen back and capped it before setting it inside a small pouch on his belt.

Mental faculties slowly coming back online, Terra stiffened slightly, suddenly remembering. She had pushed her powers to the limit to stop the volcano that had started to erupt. And then... what had happened? Were the others alright? Terra tried to sit up again, only to be gently restrained by Caine as he slowly pushed her back into a lying position.

"Whoa, whoa. It would be best if you didn't move too much just yet. Your muscles are still recovering, and straining them at this point could cause permanent damage. You were out for a long time."

A long time?

"Is… is the city alright?" She asked. Her anxiety went up as she saw Caine tense slightly, his eyes troubled.

"Is it alright!" She asked again desperately, "Are the other Titans alright!"

"Titans?" Caine asked, rolling the word over in his mind. _'Ahh yes, the Teen Titans right, that name listed on her plaque.'_

"The Teen Titans! You've heard of them right? Are they alright, is the city alright? What's going on!" She shouted.

"Hoo boy, how to explain this." He mused out loud, rubbing the back of his head uncomfortably, "Well let me start by asking what you last remember."

She thought for a moment, trying to piece together everything that had happened "I-I was fighting with…" she stopped, her voice catching in her throat. With a supreme effort she forced herself to continue "I was fighting… against… the criminal Slade…" She trailed off, giving him a desperate look, hoping for any form of recognition on his face. Seeing none, her heart began to beat furiously with fear. Just how long had she been out?

Caine regarded her silently.

"Just tell me, w-what year is it?" She asked slowly, dreading the answer.

He sighed, bracing himself for the coming storm "It is currently the year 2505." He said, wincing a little as she gasped in horror. _'Yup, I knew she wouldn't take that well…'_

Five hundred years? She had been out for over five hundred years! Her eyes began to well up, tears running down her cheeks.

"Oh…oh god. Beastboy… everybody… I…" She sobbed, unable to even raise her hands to cover her eyes. She simply lay there allowing the tears to come, her body heaving as she wept.

Everything and everyone was gone. And with it, her chance at making amends for everything she had said and done.

He watched her silently as she broke down. Ilistraza had been right; this girl was certainly carrying some heavy emotional baggage. He was just glad that Tank was currently occupied, as the brutally honest grackle tooth would likely have said something which would have immediately compelled the girl to bite her own tongue to bleed herself to death. As it was he would probably be back in just a few minutes, so it would be best if he could get her stable before that.

As to how the hell he would accomplish that, he had no idea.

Comforting and understanding would probably sound too hollow. Hearing something along the lines of 'Don't worry, everything will be just fine'or 'I know how you must feel' would probably only serve to piss her off.

'**_Just let her cry it out. There is nothing that you can say that will make this any easier for her to bear…'_** Came Ilistraza's voice, her tone deep with sympathy.

'_That's right' _Caine thought to himself, _'Ilistraza could certainly sympathize with her, having gone through something similar herself.'_

'**_Maybe I should let you talk to her then.' _**He stated.

He could feel her mentally shake her head **_'No… I would probably terrify the poor thing. As I said, it would be best if we simply let her be.'_**

'… **_Yeah…' _**He assented.

* * *

"Are you alright now?" He asked cautiously, noticing that her tears were beginning to slow a bit. She was not crying any longer, simply staring up at the sky, her blue eyes shining slightly from the tears.

"I don't… yeah, I think so." She managed. She looked over at him again "So… what happened while I was… asleep."

"Well… there are parts that I am unsure of, but suffice it to say that this world will probably not be anything like you remembered." He answered.

"What about Jump City, is it still there?"

He sighed and shook his head "Not as such, no. Actually I don't think a single city survived the apocalypse 200 years ago."

"APOCALYPSE!"

He jumped slightly when she yelled. Apparently her vocal cords were recovering well.

"What happened! How!" She rambled, trying desperately to wrap her mind around the enormity of this revelation.

"Well, essentially, 200 or so years ago, a worldwide calamity occurred, one that would set in motion events beyond anything anyone could have dreamed of. As for how it happened, humans happened." He finished darkly.

"Humans happened?"

He nodded "Pretty much. To make a long story short, human beings got tired of waiting for God to bring about the apocalypse, so… they made their own. And the nuclear holocaust was only the beginning."

Terra simply lay there, morbidly enraptured by the story he was telling.

Caught up in his own story as well, he continued, his voice taking a strained quality "According to my… my master in my homeland, human civilization reached a golden age world wide. All nations were either equal with one another, or at the very least were close to becoming equals. Technological breakthroughs were being made at an alarming rate, and sharing between countries of such technology was common."

She nodded silently.

"However, humans, being humans, simply could not thrive in such peaceful times. Despite the great breakthroughs, despite the peace that had taken so many centuries to form, it was all broken in a single year. Several countries, for what ever reason, took an opportunity to attack one another, inciting a world wide nuclear war. The nuclear fallout devastated the entire planet, killing billions. But…" He cut off.

"But…" She urged.

"But that was just the start. Just to break topic a little bit here, but have you ever heard of something called bio-electricity?"

Terra thought a moment. When she had still been with the Titans, she had hear Cyborg talk of various scientific matters. Most of it went well over her head, but she could recall him saying stuff about bio-electricity.

"Isn't it… the energy in the brain or something?" She ventured. Caine smiled and nodded.

"That's correct. Anyways, human beings, and all living things for that matter, are essentially biological machines which run on bio-electric energy. When a living creature dies, their bio-electric energy doubles briefly as it disperses into the earth. Normally it is not that big a deal, but… when so many people die, all at once, the massive surge of energy that was released triggered a massive planet wide chain reaction in the earths dormant ley ines and…"

"Uhhh… what are ley lines?" She asked, utterly confused. She never heard Cyborg mention anything like that.

"Ley lines are, for lack of a better description, rivers of energy which flow all over the planet. I'll get into specifics later."

"Ok."

"Anyways, all that sudden input of energy caused the earth's ley lines to go riot. Natural disasters began to occur all over the world. The ring of fire, and I mean each and every volcano in the Ring of Fire, including the dormant ones, went off all at once. This in turn caused massive tsunami to flood the coastlines of every single land mass on the planet, destroying pretty much every coastal city, probably what happened to Jump City. Entire countries were wiped out. Communication was severed."

She was quiet through that, her head bowing.

"Billions more died, which added fuel to the destruction. This all continued for about 7 days. At the end of the 7th day, the destruction stopped…" he paused.

"Then the rifts opened…"

There was only silence as the tension built. The former Titan could definitely feel that this was probably the darkest part of the story. She silently bade him to continue.

"The rifts are dimensional tears in time and space. When these rifts opened, they poured forth a flood of inter dimensional beings, demons, alienentities, and monstersof every size, shape and form you could think of, and a bunch that you could not even imagine. After the events that occurred, the human race was reduced to a mere percent of its former number."

"… holy…" Terra murmured, utterly appalled.

"… But, that's really not an issue anymore. The fact remains that humans did manage to survive, and are even making slow progress in taking back the world—Though new rifts do open every full moon, solstice and equinox, pouring more inter dimensional beings through."

"In other words… the whole world has gone to shit…" She finished breathlessly.

He laughed "Yes, that is a good way of putting it. Although, they are not the worst thing on this planet…" His expression grew dark, almost hateful. It was only a moment, and it was quickly replaced with another smile "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to go all dark and dreary like that." He said apologetically, shrugging with slight embarrassment. The sound of an engine caught their attention.

"Hey buddy, how's it going." Tank yelled. Hopping off the hover cycle, he hauled what looked like to large dinosaur carcasses over to the small fire where the two of them sat. Throwing them down, he plopped down next to Cain, reaching into a small pack on his belt and withdrawing a stogie. As he was lighting it, he caught Terra starring at him with a terrified look in her eyes, trying desperately to muster what muscle strength she could to back away from him.

"Hey, ah see our little guest is up an' at 'em now, eh!" He laughed, bending down to get a better look at her. For Terra, the sight of a ten foot tall, half a ton grackle tooth almost completely unhinged her, and she began to shake.

"Sorry, this is my friend and partner, Tank. He looks mean, but really he's just loud, rude and a complete ass." Caine explained, trying to soothe her while shooting the grackle tooth the evil eye. The lizard man simply burped in response, giving her a small salute and a large grin, smoke seeping through his teeth.

Terra shrieked.

"Oh for the love of God Tank!"

* * *

_  
AN: Wow, this is coming along nicely, in my opinion at least. And now that Terra is awake, I can start introducing her to the dangerous and exciting world of RIFTS Earth. Let's see how she adapts. Expect lots more action to come!_

_Well here is my promised tutorial on common RIFTS terms so people don't get completely confused about what I am referring to. More will follow in later chapters when necessary or applicable._

_Nexus Point: This is a location where two or more ley lines intersect. Such locations are greatly favored by spell casters due to the fact that the presence of a nexus can augment an arcanists spell casting ability many times over, allowing them to cast spells that normally require far more PPE than a typical human generally possesses._

_PPE: PPE or Potential Psychic Energy, is the energy that powers living bodies. Also known as Bio-Electricity, PPE is what powers the brain and nerves. Essentially it is the energy necessary for life. It also is the power that spell casters use to cast their spells. Normal humans possess only a small amount of PPE, however spell casters and supernatural creatures possess far more, acting as living batteries for psychic energy. There are numerous methods for arcanists to acquire more PPE. The most common is to tap into a nearby ley line, as this essentially provides an unlimited source of energy, though it can only be drawn upon at a limited rate. The second method is to siphon it off from living creatures. However, most creatures do not possess enough to make such a technique useful, though a collection of spell casters can elect to pour their energy into another spell caster, thus rituals involving many arcanists are common for casting particularly powerful spells. The third is to draw upon the energy released from a living creature at the point of death, as a living creatures PPE temporarily doubles a few moments after death. Thus many evil wizards have no qualms about performing blood sacrifices to power their more powerful spells. And finally spell casters can draw power from magical items and artifacts, including PPE batteries and other devices._

_Grackle Tooth: This is the race that Tank belongs to. Despite their frightening and monstrous appearance, Grackle Tooth's are typically good humored and good natured individuals. They enjoy a good drink, love to fight and roughhouse, and generally enjoy life and live hard and fast. They do have a fondness for technology, and for large guns in particular. They are well known for their love of wisecracks. For what ever reason they seem to have a strong liking for the human race, which leads some humans to think of them as large dogs. It is because of their good attitude towards humans that they are easily accepted in human society, even in places where most D-bees are discriminated against._

_D-Bee: Slang for Dimensional Being. Basically any creatures that have come through the Rifts are labeled as D-Bees. Humans acceptance of D-Bees varies from location to location, some like welcome and accept them, others simply tolerate them, while others will enslave them or kill them on sight no questions asked._


End file.
